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On Friday night, NMHS honored those student-athletes who helped the program take its place among the best in the state.

NMHS retired the numbers of former standouts Greg Carr (former Florida State standout/current CFL wide receiver), Jamie Thompson (former New York Jets defensive back and Cortez Allen (currently with the Pittsburgh Steelers as a defensive back), while also setting up Wall of Fame on a night where the school featured a celebrity all-star basketball that included the likes of Percy Harvin, Chris Rainey, Willie Jackson and Kestahn Moore.

"It's a tremendous honor to be recognized," said Allen, who played at The Citadel before earning a starting role at cornerback with the Steelers. "It's a blessing to be categorized with players like Carr, Thompson and others. I'm very proud to be part of this and I'm very proud of my school."

"Coming back here (Friday) gave me a lot of motivation and it really made me realize that all of my hard work has paid off," said Carr, who plays receiver for the Saskatchawan Rough Riders of the CFL. "North Marion has been due for something like this for a long time.

"It's so nice to come back here and see North Marion headed in the right direction."

All of the players on the wall played at NMHS except Ingram, who went to nearby Hawthorne High School before a stellar career at the University of Florida, but has been a friend of the Colt program for years.

"Anytime that coach Damon needs my help I am there," said Ingram, who is currently weighing options from NFL teams. "It's a lot of fun playing here and I really enjoyed the atmosphere.

"I'm always very respectful to everyone I meet and I got a nice ovation tonight and that really felt good."

Over the past several years, Ingram has been a key motivational speaker to students at NMHS and its feeder schools in the north end of the county. He was also a driving force behind Friday Night's Celebrity All-Star Basketball Game.

"We were looking for a fundraiser and I talked to (Ingram) about it and then we talked about a time that we could have it," Damon said. "We decided that March would be a good time. He said that a lot of the (former Gator football players) were around Gainesville working out and that a lot of them played a lot of basketball to stay in shape.

"Then, I talked to (Carr) and asked him if he was up for it and he said 'yes.' Hopefully, this event keeps getting bigger and bigger and will be around for a long time."

The event also was a reunion for many former Colt standouts.

"It was great to have the chance to come back and be part of this," said Brinkley, who is weighing options as a quarterback with several Arena Football League teams. "We were in the locker room telling stories and it brought back a lot of great memories."

Yarn was awarded a special plaque before the game, as he was the first NMHS player to earn a Division I scholarship, which set the standard for the Colts for many years to come.

From there, players like Rutledge went on to shine and helped NMHS earn its first-ever playoff victory in 2000.

"It's an honor and a privilege to be here and just to see where the program has come from and where it has went is amazing," Rutledge said. "It's nice to be one of the pioneers of the program and to pave the way for others."

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